The corded Milwaukee orbital sander is great!

I have my ROS units all corded because I always run them attached to a vacuum hose. It never seems worth the extra costs of a battery to get cordless

If you're doing touch up sanding in the field it's fine. For something in the shop you can do much better, and like /u/tmpee said cordless makes no sense since you should have it hooked up to dust collection for best results.

If you're not going for Mirka and Festool, Bosch and Makita make good sanders that costs less.

Cordless sander always seemed silly to me….why burn batteries when you should have it hooked up to a dust collector anyway? Just a thought.

If you're a hobbyist, you may find that the even less expensive ROS sanders from Vevor and Maxxt are suitable. I've been using the 5mm orbit Maxxt for over a year and I'm pleased as punch with it. I'm not sure how it would hold up sanding dining room tables 4 days a week but 2-3 hours a week on furniture finishing has been a breeze.

The only thing I've replaced has been the pad itself after the first year and that was done preemptively.

I have that exact sander and I just used it to finish a 5x2 butcher block tabletop, I also used a corded belt sander. The cordless one was far more convenient to use, even with battery swapping. Plus I found if you were using something for dust extraction trying to manage the cord and the hose was a huge pain in the ass compared to just the hose. 

My router is corded and I hate it, cord is way to short and constantly gets in the way. I'd recommend corded router for a router table, cordless for handheld. 

Good luck! 

That sander isn’t great, they have a new one now that’s much better. That router tho, that’s the bees knees.

if you have enough batteries sure.

but for a sander I use an air sander. I have a huge compressor so it makes sense. sanding in my experience is a long and intense process not ideal for battery.

most other tools battery is fine. got a buddy that have battery everything.

I personally ain't seen a battery router that has the power and features of a big Bosch. but honestly I could make do with some battery router and some patience.

I’m a big fan of cordless but I like my sander to have a cord. First of all, in my experience battery powered sanders don’t perform great. Secondly, most of the time I use a sander I have a vac hooked up to it for dust collection so having a cordless sander that’s connected to a vac kinda defeats the purpose of cordless. And finally most sanding jobs take a while, oftentimes hours so you end up just burning through batteries

Router is great.

For the sander: if you’re gonna be sanding for hours, you want to connect it to a vacuum anyway, so you might as well have a corded one because the vacuum will take away the only reason to have a battery one. However, battery ones are great for quick jobs

Dewalt made a corded belt sander, when it worked it was a beast... emphasis on when. It was impossible to get the belt to track and it shredded belts. They discontinued it. A cordless belt sander would be awesome but it would likely need to be a Flexvolt tool due to power consumption.

I just can't seem to wrap my head around why DeWalt does not make a. Portable belt sander. Not even a corded one. Anyone know of one that will work with the DeWalt 20v batteries? Even using an adapter but the tool has a bms in it so the battery doesn't completely go dead.

Makita has a 18v battery powered one. You can get a cheap ($15ish) makita 18v to dewalt 20v adapter and it will run like a champ. I use daily in commercial doors

They aren't wrong to be fair. Ryobi batteries are more expensive than dewalt ones, and Makita batteries are far less reliable than Dewalt ones (source being a friend who's an e-shop manager for a local tool superstore, they get more returns for Makita batteries than Dewalt, Bosch and Milwaukee combined). Good quality low drain voltage cutoff circuitry is expensive if it has to be permanently integrated with the battery as it has to draw such a tiny current, makes sense to fit it to the tool and use cheaper components.

Been waiting for a dewalt cordless palm nailer forever.

But how many batteries do you have vs tools? I have about 14 batteries, to my 30-40 tools. It may be cheaper to put BMS in a tool vs a battery, but you’re going to have a lot less batteries than you do tools.

I know it's expensive, but the Mirka Deros is worth the money. I work in a shop and have one in my hand all day. I've tried the Festool and it's clunky and heavy and sits in a drawer in the shop while we all wait for the Mirka. I love it so much I bought one for my home shop with a fein vac.

A good middle of the road would be the festool ETS 125. I bought it and other than the dust collection, it's been pretty good. At $250 it's half the price of the other festool sanders.

Not gonna lie, finding a solid corded sander that isn’t packed with useless features was weirdly harder than expected. Came across this post that pointed out a few good models with decent dust collection

All dust bags suck. You need to hook it up to a vacuum to get decent removal.

Festool ETS EC 125/3 I replaced my Makita with that sander and its night and day, makes the Makita feel like a cheap peace of trash that vibrates your hand off.

I wouldn't recommend a beginner use a belt sander for furniture.

But, if you want one I'd steer clear of anything from craftsman. I have a Makita that works great. I'm sure Milwaukee, DeWalt, or even Rigid would be better. I have a relative who works construction and he mentioned all the flooring guys he works with all use Porter Cable belt sanders.

I like the Bosch 4". Variable speed, tracks well, balanced, heavy, can use one handed for wide panels.

I don't find much difference between one belt sander and another, they are simple devices. I own the one in your link and it works fine for my needs, it's not too big or too heavy, but really anything that moves a sanding belt would do.

There are lots of tools that a beginner should buy before getting a belt sander. What exactly is he hoping to accomplish with it? Surfacing rough lumber? Get a jointer or planer or hand plane. Smoothing glue ups? Get a ROS.

A belt sander in inexperienced hands can do a lot of damage in a hurry.

Craftsman is a home hobbyist brand that is not intended for daily high volume use in a professional shop. Dewalt, Porter Cable, Milwaukee, are better choices.

My guess is the OP was asking about something like this https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Woodworking/Sanders/2832-20. To the best of my knowledge Makita does not make an equivalent tool.

I was thinking this same thing the other day. It wouldn't be that hard either considering they have the planer as well.

They do.

https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/XSB01TJ

Honestly a quick google search would answer your question.

I think they might, but who knows when...

It seems like Makita filed a patent for a cordless belt sander a while ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Jn1veqxC0&t=286s

He says it would probably come out in 18V and 40V, but the battery in the picture looks like a 40V to me.

IMO, best bang for the buck are Bosch RO sanders coupled with GOOD quality mesh paper, not the diablo junk they sell at home depot etc

Have a porter cable is 25 yrs old works good

Definitely go corded to start. This way you don’t have to worry about the batteries, just plug and play. Upgrade to a Makita down the road or even something better if you have the monies.

As I do more drywall, I am in search of attachments for my vacuum that fit my Makita palm sanders

Any palm sander will get the job done imo, but a vacuum attachment is key

The Rolls Royce of sanders is Mirka, not even Festool can compete.

There's a 3x18 M18 belt sander releasing next month. If I knew how to post links I would. But you'll just have to Google

Milwaukee comes with their new belt. Maybe now makita add this product in their lxt lineup.

Your response helps none, answers nothing nor does it contribute to this discussion at alll. Your response simply shows how big of a d-bag you are.

If they make on it will probably be on XGT 40v.

My guess would be because they don't make one.

The belt sander pulls almost 10 amps, for any actual use I feel it would be kinda silly having to change your battery every 10 minutes or so. I’m makita fan and I like my cordless stuff but when it comes to planning or heavy belt sanding I’ll settle for corded

Honestly, for a rough sanding job like you describe any belt sander will work fine. The difference you get between a cheap vs expensive belt sander is mainly the dust expulsion/collection, and how well the sand paper tracks or stays aligned on the cylinders. I have a super cheap Tool Shop brand one and a nicer DeWalt one. The cheap one gets clogged with dust and often the paper will ride off the edge, making it easier to tear or exposing the work piece the rubber rollers. For these reasons, I would avoid the really low end models.

I would also look at ergonomics. The ability to lay it upside down and use it as a bench sander vastly increases the value of a belt sander in my opinion. I like my dewalt well enough, but any name brand one would be good probably.

Harbor Freight has an excellent sander for 39$ - it's pretty powerful and with the default 80 grit belt, it sands off material really fast. For 10$ more, they have a variable speed sander.

It's just a motor driving a belt - there isn't much to these things.

Craiglist/pawnshops should always have one of these available for under $50

edit: also, reach out on Facebook or similar, someone or their parents probably has one in the garage. I've borrowed and lent out tools this way, but hear people get free tools from friends this way because people don't need them anymore.